It’s the
truth. It’s the only truth I know—if she’s in danger, I’ll carry her out. If
she’s crying, I hold her until she stops. If she wants me… I can’t tell her no.

It’s been
that way since she was just a cute little kid. It’s been this way since last
summer when everything changed. I tried to fight it. She was only seventeen. I
was almost twenty-one… Her daddy would’ve shot me dead and buried my body.

I tried to
date… One time. It was a fucking disaster. I could only see her, taste her,
want her. Only Drew gets me this way.

At night,
I’d lie in bed and remember the first time we were together. Two triangles of
white fabric covered her small breasts. I could see the curves at the bottoms
and sides. They were perfect handfuls, high and pointed.

She looked
at me as if she knew what she was doing to me in that white bikini. I’m sure I
looked like an awestruck fool.

Then she
blinked and tucked her chin into her shoulder, taunting me. Her hair swished
down her back, ending at her slim waist. Her flat stomach led to round hips,
long, silky legs. Her toenails were painted bright white, and I wanted to put
them in my mouth. I’ve never wanted to do that.

I’ve never
wanted to devour someone before.

My dick was
so hard.

“I dreamed
of you touching me.” Her voice drips with desire, and just like that, I have a
steel rod in my pants. “Will you touch me now?”

“Drew…” I
should tell her no.

Being here
with her is dangerous.

If Danny
found out… He’d say what I know. I’m too old for her. She’s too young. I should
give her a chance to grow up. On top of that, I have nothing, no name, no
status. I’m an orphan raised by a nobody.

I’m working
to change it, but I haven’t yet.

She takes
my hand and places it on the top of her thigh, at the hem of her red dress.
“Touch me here,” she whispers, leaning into my ear.

She owns me
in this moment, and she knows it.

She knows
holding her is the greatest feeling in the world. It’s like coming home.

Her hand
guides mine higher, sliding up the smooth skin of her leg. I feel her body
tremble, and when my fingers touch the soft folds of her sex, I almost come in
my pants. She’s not wearing underwear.

“Drew.” My
voice is a hungry noise, the growl of a starving man.

“Yes,” she
sighs. “Touch me, Gray.”

Her nails
cut into my shoulders as I trace my fingers along the damp slit, teasing the
tiny strip of curls, dipping the tip of one finger into her tight, clenching
core. One more, and she moans. She’s so wet. I want to taste her.

“Gray…” Her
hands go to my waist, pulling at the button on my jeans. She has my pants
undone, and my erection is pointing right at her.

“Hang on.” I
stand, fishing out my wallet, finding a condom.

I turn to
the side to roll it on my aching dick.

As much as
I dream of her carrying my baby, I know neither one of us is ready for that
responsibility. Hell, I’m leaving for fucking Africa in less than two days. How
I’ll survive four years without her, I don’t have a fucking clue, but I won’t
do what they say I will. I won’t “ruin her” and run off.

My hands
are on her again, lifting her by the ass and carrying her so her back is
against the wall. Her mouth is on my neck, her soft tongue touching my hot skin
as she kisses her way higher. I’m about to explode.

“I need you
inside me.” Her lips graze my ear before she kisses it, and I don’t hesitate.

Lowering
her onto my dick, my knees almost give out. My mind tilts at the sensation of
her hot, tight, and clenching around my shaft. I have to hold still or I’ll
come. Her thighs tense around my waist, and she struggles to move, letting out
a low moan.

“Gray…” I
feel her tremble, her muscles spasm, and my brow tightens.

I raise my
head to find her eyes. “Did you come?”

Her nose
curls, and she stretches up and down on me. “I came when you touched me.” She
grips my shoulders, pulling up to kiss me. “Do it hard—the way you like it. I
want to feel you. I want to remember you were here.”

Jesus. My eyes close, and I lower my
mouth to hers. Her lips part, and our tongues curl together. I start to move, a
deep thrust, and there’s no turning back.

“Drew…”
It’s a ragged groan, and her body breaks again.

I’m
relentless, driven by a need that never lets me go. Her small breasts bounce
against my chest with every hard thrust. She moans, and her back arches, more
clenching around my dick, pulling me further in.

“Oh,” she
gasps, and I brace myself.

This is
better than any drug. She’s my crack cocaine.

My hands
grip her hips, pulling us together again and again, until I break, pressing her
to the wall, filling that condom with every pulse, the way I dream of filling
her, of putting my baby into her, of having all the things I want with her, a
home, a family.

I’m
breathing hard. My eyes are closed, and her fingers trace my neck, thread into
my hair. She kisses my jaw, my cheek. The sensations consume me, overpower me.
I hold onto her as I fumble my way back to Earth. I got lost in heaven.

Mine…
Mine… The word
echoes in my ears on every heartbeat. What will it take to make her mine?

Author Bio

Tia Louise
is the USA Today best-selling,
award-winning author of When We Touch,
the “Bright Lights,” “One to Hold,” and “Dirty Players” series, and co-author
of the #4 Amazon bestseller The Last Guy.

After being
a teacher, a book editor, a journalist, and finally a magazine editor, she
started writing love stories and never stopped.

Louise
lives in the Midwest with her trophy husband, two teenage geniuses, and one
grumpy cat.